About

Mission Statement:

What is the meaning of “Asian American”? Is it a political distinction? A census category?

Does it have a particular culture or is it made up of many different cultures?

How do our other identities change its meaning?

And how does it change how we work towards a better, more equitable society?

As[I]Am (pronounced “as I am”) is an online space for Asian Americans to discuss how our identities relate to our work in social justice. Due to the broad range of answers to this question, As[I]Am is committed to creating a pan-Asian space where the 40+ ethnicities that fall under the label “Asian” may share their many different experiences. As[I]Am also encourages people of different gender identity, sexual orientation, class, ability, and other intersectional identities to share their experiences and approaches so as to explore the many varied ways one lives and works as an “Asian American.”

This is the space to share our experiences and challenge dominant narratives (e.g. the model minority myth, the “tiger mother”). This is a space to look critically at ourselves and ask difficult questions. This is a space to explore and acknowledge differences of experience and assess how to build a successful movement.

As[I]Am will be a pan-Asian space and include East, Southeast, South, and West Asian perspectives as well as those whose diasporic heritage complicates those terms.

We are in search of bright talented writers and activists to contribute content. Anything related to Asian Americans will be accepted, but here are some of the core subject areas we’d like to see:

– Activism 101 (where to get started, how to find/form groups, how to facilitate, etc)
– Power and privilege, intersectionality
– Defying stereotypes (in work, in life)
– Media culture and representation
– Asian American identity and politics (microaggressions, political representation)
– Answers to the questions “Who is an Asian American? What does it mean to be an Asian American?”
– Book/film/blog/other media reviews related to Asian Americans and their interests
– Asian American women of color experiences and interactions with feminism
– Queer Asian American experiences
– Asian Americans with disabilities and their experiences

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